To celebrate New York Design Week, Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani created an installation for Foscarini that challenges the mind using large-scale fixtures specified for hospitality projects.
[dropcap style=”letter” size=”52″ bg_color=”#dd3333″ txt_color=”#000000″]U[/dropcap]pon stepping into the Foscarini Spazio showroom in the SoHo section of Manhattan, visitors are immersed in a visually graphic world. Imagine an Ames room (i.e. a distorted space used to create an optical illusion) that gives the sensation of suddenly growing and shrinking proportions. The striking effect — created by a multicolored pattern displayed across surfaces — challenges perspectives. This technique results in the sizes of objects and people seeming larger or smaller than they really are. Underscoring this background illusion are the giant versions of Foscarini lighting designs that loom over the setting.
“To create something from nothing is in itself an illusion; to give it volume, to make it physical, is an illusion,” explains Ferruccio Laviani. “This installation sets out to challenge our imagination to discover what is real and what is not,” he adds. “The objects on display become deceptive in terms of size and presence: what is reality and what is illusion?”
The installation is a way for visitors to personally experience and discover the new “extra-large” versions of some of Foscarini’s well-known lamps, such as Big Bang, Spokes, and Twiggy. For several years, Foscarini has been reinterpreting its products of greatest character in L and XL versions to furnish large spaces, scaling up their characteristics and personality.
In addition to the Laviani-designed Giants installation, Foscarini will unveil the new Buds collection of lamps, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni. Buds table is a new LED lamp made of a high-density plastic base and a shade created through an elaborate glass-blowing technique to optimize the light quality. The innovation of the materials and techniques used to create the lamp — as well as its unique series of three distinct shapes in three colorways – makes this lamp a piece of design history. Foscarini will also introduce a re-engineered series of Buds suspension lamps that have been redesigned for optimal LED light quality and presented in three shapes and colors.
Visitors will also find a new collection of lamps by Diesel Living with Foscarini, which is showcased in a separate installation in the showroom. Designed by Diesel’s in-house creative team and realized by Foscarini’s product development department, this collection represents the industrial sophistication of the Diesel Living line. Vent (inspired by factory vents and Smash (reminiscent of a flattened bell) are new introductions for 2016. Foscarini will also be bringing to market a style called White Noise, plus the Gask wall version, which combines heavy metal, screws, and blown glass.
